Mandated overtime is part of the contract Northampton County has with its nursing home workers unionized with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Gracedale and county administrators responded. Administrators say more help is needed because of a shortage in the part-time staff at the county's 790-bed nursing home in Upper Nazareth Township.

While more than one refusal to put in extra hours will result in a suspension, no one will be fired for declining to work mandated overtime, said Betty Brittenburg, a Gracedale personnel supervisor. Volunteers are sought to work overtime before the mandatory rule kicks in, she said.

The protesting employees -- licensed practical nurses and nurse's aides, many of them part-time -- said they are being told to work four extra hours at the end of their shifts to cope with an emergency. But bathing isn't an emergency, rather part of the routine that should be picked up by the day shift, said Tom Geiger, an LPN.

He and others believe they are being exploited to lighten the workload for the day shift, which is more visible to the public and state inspectors.

Gracedale Administrator Harold Russell Jr. said the mandated overtime is needed to compensate for 29 part-time and four full-time job vacancies on the day shift, which runs from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. He attributed the labor shortage to a high turnover rate common in the health care industry.

There are 19 part-time openings on the 3-11 p.m. shift and five on the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift, Russell said. Extra staffing is also sometimes required to cover for employees on vacation or sick leave, he noted.

Staff was insufficient to get the day started Sunday, so third-shift employees were asked to stay past 7 a.m. "to help get us through personal care in the morning," he said. When nobody volunteered, eight employees were mandated to work overtime, Russell said.

It's the first time in recent memory third-shift workers have been asked to work overtime, other than during bad weather, he said.

Hilbert and Geiger, however, said the overtime has existed for at least two months, possibly longer.

"They expect a lot of work from you -- and it's the residents who suffer," said nurse's aid Charmain McLoughlin. She said employees have to put in extra weekend duty, even after working 10-day schedules.

"Every hospital and care facility in the Lehigh Valley have some such provisions for mandatory overtime," said James Hickey, the county's director of administration. "This is a health care facility; you can't leave patients uncared for."

Acknowledging the need to sustain staffing at Gracedale, County Council last week sweetened the incentive to work overtime on weekends.

To "continue to maintain sufficient and proper care for Gracedale residents," council passed a resolution Thursday to pay nurse's aides premium wages for all voluntary weekend overtime shifts.

"We want to address any personnel issues that exist at Gracedale," said Ronald Heckman, the county's human services director. "We went to council to allow us to give nursing attendants weekend premiums for extra shifts."

He agreed with Russell that the pool of professional health care providers ebbs and flows in a local market filling with private nursing homes.

"We're going to look at how many positions exist and the number of vacancies and take steps to alleviate this," Heckman promised. "For years this has been an ongoing process, where day shifters have been asked to put in extra time into the afternoon. It's my understanding this is the first time the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift has been asked to work overtime."

"You work a double shift on weekends and they still harass you to do more," said Pat Repscher, an LPN. "The residents are the ones who get hurt."

"They say, `you owe it to Gracedale,' when they come and ask for overtime," added Hilbert. "Don't plan a day off; your life is here."

She and others said many people choose to work night shifts so they can see their children off to school; having to work last-minute overtime conflicts with family life.

"They're taking advantage of us; they don't see what the night shift does," said Hilbert. She said aides have been required to wake residents at 5 a.m. for bathing to get them ready for the day, often without male attendants to help lift residents from their beds.

Third-shift employees are circulating a petition asking to meet with Gracedale administration to discuss mandatory overtime and the staffing situation. Close to 65 have signed the petition, representing most of the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. staff.

"This group of individuals will not be treated differently than anybody else. This is not something that is specific to Gracedale ... it's a common problem," Heckman said. "It seems to be more of a personal concern on the part of certain individuals."